System and method for operating a fuel dispensing apparatus

ABSTRACT

A fuel dispenser including one or more processors in a local or distributed computing system provide techniques for smart fuel dispensing that represent a marriage of vehicle telematics data, a smart fuel dispenser, and a customer device (e.g., a mobile device, tablet, computer, etc.). The techniques disclosed particularly provide a customizable fueling experience to customers and, for example, communicate fuel dispensing configuration information to/from a customer, pair vehicles to a fueling dispenser (e.g., using combinations of vehicle telematics, mobile phone data, fuel dispensing data, etc.), initiate/terminate fueling sessions, recommend fuel grades, establish customer accounts for various payment options, and look forward to potential itineraries (e.g., planned trips) to provide recommendations for vehicle maintenance, fuel grades, additives, etc.).

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to U.S. patent application Ser. No.61/991,815 filed May 12, 2014 which is incorporated by reference in itsentirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates generally to systems for dispensing fuel, and inparticular to intelligent fuel dispensing systems.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Conventional fuel dispensers permit customers to dispense fuel intocustomer vehicles. The fueling process follows traditional steps andincludes stopping a customer vehicle in near proximity to a fueldispenser (e.g., a pump), opening a fuel port of the vehicle (e.g., agasoline tank), selecting a fuel grade or type, dispensing fuel into thevehicle, and payment. Additional steps can be included as necessarydepending on, for example, payment type, etc.

However, conventional fuel dispensers do not provide additional servicesor any enhanced experience to the customer. The present invention isdirected to providing additional services and/or an enhanced fuelingexperience over existing fuel dispensing systems.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

As discussed herein, the subject disclosure provides techniques forsmart fuel dispensing that represents a marriage of vehicle telematicsdata, a smart fuel dispenser, and a customer device (e.g., a mobiledevice, tablet, computer, etc.). The fuel dispenser, including one ormore processors in a local or distributed computing system particularlyprovide a customizable fueling experience to customers. According to thesubject embodiments discussed herein, these techniques communicate fueldispensing configuration information to/from a customer, pair vehiclesto a fueling dispenser (e.g., using combinations of vehicle telematics,mobile phone data, fuel dispensing data, etc.), initiate/terminatefueling sessions, recommend fuel grades, establish customer accounts forvarious payment options, and look forward to potential itineraries(e.g., planned trips) to provide recommendations for vehiclemaintenance, fuel grades, additives, etc.).

According to one particular embodiment of the subject disclosure, a fueldispenser receives telematics data such as vehicle identification datafor a corresponding vehicle. Such telematics data can be generated froma vehicle device (Onboard Device (OBD)), or from a customer device(e.g., a mobile phone, etc.). The fuel dispenser initiates a fuelingsession associated with the vehicle identification data and determines alocation of the vehicle based on at least one of the telematics data anda location of the mobile device associated with the vehicle. The fueldispenser permits fuel to dispense when the vehicle is within apredetermined proximity with the fuel dispenser. The fuel dispenserfurther terminates the fueling session when, for example, a customerholsters a fuel nozzle/handle and/or the location of the vehicle exceedsthe predetermined proximity. Once terminated, the fuel dispenserprevents fuel from dispensing.

In certain embodiments, the fuel dispenser determines an accountassociated with vehicle identification data. In some embodiments, theaccount can include an account balance, while in other embodiments theaccount may function on a credit- system. The fuel dispenser determinesa total value of fuel dispensed for the fueling session and, whenoperating on an account balance, it deducts the total value of fueldispensed for the fueling session from the account balance. The fueldispenser further notifies an owner of the account (e.g., associatedwith the vehicle identification data) that the total value of fueldispensed was deducted from the account balance. In a credit and/or anaccount system, the fuel dispenser can also generate a statement of anaggregated total value of fuel dispensed over a predetermined period oftime and notify an owner of the account the statement of the aggregatedtotal value of fuel dispensed over the predetermined period of time.Such notification can include, for example, electronic communications(e.g., text messages, emails, etc.), paper statements, receipts at thefuel dispenser, and the like.

According to another embodiment of the subject disclosure, a fueldispenser receives telematics data regarding a vehicle. Such telematicsdata can include, for example vehicle diagnostics including enginetiming data and itinerary data regarding an upcoming trip, etc. Suchtelematics data can be generated or sourced from a vehicle (e.g., avehicle OBD) or a customer device (e.g., a mobile phone and the like).The fuel dispenser further determines an optimal fuel type such as anoctane grade for the vehicle based on the telematics data. For example,certain engine timing requires specific minimum octane grades to preventknocking. Additionally, with respect to a planned trip (e.g., itinerarydata), the geographic location of the trip may include particularaltitudes where specific fuel grades are recommended for the vehicle.The fuel dispenser is also configured to determine local lexicon ornomenclature for fuel octane grades (e.g., “regular”, “super”, etc.) andprovide the appropriate optimal fuel type for the vehicle to display tothe customer. With respect to display, the fuel dispenser can displaythe appropriate optimal fuel type on a fuel dispenser display, transmitthe optimal fuel type to a customer device for display (e.g., a mobilephone), and/or transmit the optimal fuel type to the vehicle fordisplay. A customer is prevented from dispensing non-optimal fuel typessince the fuel dispenser prevents non-optimal fuel from dispensing.

In additional embodiments, the fuel dispenser also determines one ormore recommended fuel additives based on the vehicle diagnostics dataand provides such recommended fuel additives to a display.

These and other features of the systems and methods of the subjectinvention will become more readily apparent to those skilled in the artfrom the following detailed description of the preferred embodimentstaken in conjunction with the drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

So that those skilled in the art to which the subject inventionappertains will readily understand how to make and use the devices andmethods of the subject invention without undue experimentation,preferred embodiments thereof will be described in detail herein belowwith reference to certain figures, wherein:

FIG. 1 illustrates a schematic diagram view of a conventional fueldispensing system;

FIG. 2 illustrates a schematic diagram view of an enhanced fueldispensing system constructed in accordance with the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 illustrates an example view of a communication network, showingcommunication amongst devices shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 illustrates one of the example network devices shown in FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 illustrates an example simplified procedure for operating a fueldispensing apparatus, particularly from the perspective of the fueldispensing apparatus; and

FIG. 6 illustrates another example simplified procedure for operatingthe fuel dispensing apparatus, particularly from the perspective of thefuel dispensing apparatus.

DESCRIPTION OF EXAMPLE EMBODIMENTS

Reference will now be made to the drawings. For purposes of explanationand illustration, and not limitation, FIG. 1 illustrates a schematicdiagram view 100 of a conventional fuel dispensing system. A componentor a feature that is common to more than one drawing is indicated withthe same reference number in each of the drawings.

This application has related subject matter to and hereby incorporatesby reference in their entirety the following: U.S. Application Ser. No.61/750,668; filed Jan. 9, 2013 and U.S. Application Ser. No. 13/920,548,filed Jun. 18, 2013; U.S. Application Ser. No. 61/661,027 filed on Jun.18, 2012; and U.S. Application Ser. No. 12/500,742, filed on Jul. 10,2009.

As noted above, conventional fuel dispensers permit customers todispense fuel into customer vehicles. As shown in diagram 100, acustomer drives a vehicle 110 up to a fuel dispenser 115 (e.g. a “gaspump”) to begin the fueling process. The customer opens a fuel port onthe vehicle (not shown), selects a desired fuel grade 120 (or fuel type)and dispenses fuel into vehicle 110. Payment can occur prior or postfueling (generally depending on payment type). Additional steps can beincluded or excluded as necessary.

FIG. 2 illustrates a schematic diagram view of a smart or enhanced fueldispensing system 200 constructed in accordance with the presentdisclosure. As shown, various devices communicate with each other and/orwith a network 205 (e.g., a WAN, LAN, etc.), discussed in greater detailbelow.

Smart fueling techniques, which are provided by dispensing system 215create an environment that supports communication amongst the vehicle110, a customer device 210 (e.g., a mobile phone, tablet, computingdevice, wearable device, etc.), and a smart fuel dispenser 215. Notably,various communications options exist amongst each of these devices. Forexample, each of the vehicle 110, the customer device 210, and fueldispenser 215 can communicate directly with each other and/or cancommunicate through a network.

Although fuel dispenser 215 is shown as a physical standalone fuelingstation, it is expressly contemplated that fuel dispenser 215 can bepart of and communicate with a larger distributed processing system(e.g., the cloud).

As discussed herein, vehicle 110 includes one or more onboard diagnostic(OBD) systems that generate telematics data, including vehiclediagnostic data. With respect to telematics data, generally telematicsrepresents a mix of hardware and software telecommunications technologythat conveys data or information for the purpose of improving businessservices or functions. In the automotive space, telematics has evolvedto also include vehicle diagnostic data, global positioning satellite(GPS) data corresponding to the vehicle, support services data and thelike.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example view of a communication network 300,showing communication amongst devices/nodes shown in FIG. 2.Communication network 300 comprises various nodes/devices interconnectedby various methods of communication. For instance, network 300 supportswired links as well as wireless communication media, where certain nodesmay be in communication with other nodes, e.g., based on distance,signal strength, current operational status, location, etc. Notably,each of the illustrated devices, fuel dispenser 215, customer device 210and vehicle device 110 include appropriate hardware and software tosupport such communication.

Communication network 300 represents a geographically distributedcollection of nodes/devices interconnected by communication links andsegments for transporting data there-between. Network 300 can includevarious types of networks, with the types ranging from local areanetworks (LANs) to wide area networks (WANs). LANs typically connect thenodes over dedicated private communications links located in the samegeneral physical location, such as a building or campus. WANs, on theother hand, typically connect geographically dispersed nodes overlong-distance communications links, such as common carrier telephonelines, optical lightpaths, synchronous optical networks (SONET),synchronous digital hierarchy (SDH) links, or Powerline Communications(PLC) such as IEEE 61334, CPL G3, Watt Pulse Communication (WPC), andothers. Moreover, as discussed in greater detail below, communicationnetwork 300 supports various types of protocols. Those skilled in theart will understand that any number of nodes, devices, links, protocols,etc. may be used in the communication network 300, and that the viewshown herein is for simplicity.

FIG. 4 illustrates one of the example network devices shown in FIG. 3.For example, FIG. 4 represents hardware common to fuel dispenser 215,customer device 210, and vehicle device (e.g., a vehicle OBD, etc.),where appropriate. For simplicity, the device shown in FIG. 4 isgenerally referenced as 400.

Device 400 may comprise one or more network interfaces 410, at least oneprocessor 420 (e.g., an 8-64 bit microcontroller), and a memory 440interconnected by a system bus 450, as well as a power supply 460 (e.g.,battery, plug-in, etc.).

The network interface(s) 410 contain the mechanical, electrical, andsignaling circuitry for communicating data over physical and/or wirelesslinks coupled to the network 300. The network interfaces may beconfigured to transmit and/or receive data using a variety of differentcommunication protocols, including, inter alia, TCP/IP, UDP, wirelessprotocols (e.g., IEEE Std. 802.15.4, WiFi, Bluetooth®, LTE, 3GPP, commoncarrier protocols, Near Field Communication (NFC), and the like).

Memory 440 comprises a plurality of storage locations that areaddressable by the processor 420 and the network interfaces 410 forstoring software programs and data structures associated with theembodiments described herein. Notably, certain devices may have limitedmemory or no memory (e.g., no memory for storage other than forprograms/processes operating on the device). The processor 420 maycomprise necessary elements or logic adapted to execute the softwareprograms and manipulate data structures 445, e.g., vehicle data (e.g.,telematics, diagnostics, etc.). An operating system 442, portions ofwhich are typically resident in memory 440 and executed by theprocessor, functionally organizes the device by, inter alia, invokingoperations in support of software processes and/or services executing onthe device. These software processes and/or services may comprise fueldispensing process 444. It will be apparent to those skilled in the artthat other processor and memory types, including variouscomputer-readable media, may be used to store and execute programinstructions pertaining to the techniques described herein. Also, whilethe description illustrates various processes, it is expresslycontemplated that various processes may be embodied as modulesconfigured to operate in accordance with the fuel dispensing techniquesherein (e.g., according to the functionality of a similar process). Fueldispensing process (services) 444 contains computer executableinstructions executed by the processor 420 to perform functions such ascommunicating data amongst the various devices, permitting or preventingfuel dispensing, providing recommendations for display to customers,notifying customers of statements, payments, and the like, as discussedherein.

Illustratively, the techniques described herein may be performed byhardware, software, and/or firmware, such as in accordance with the fueldispensing process 444, which may contain computer executableinstructions executed by the processor 420 (or independent processor ofinterfaces 410) to perform functions relating to the techniquesdescribed herein.

FIG. 5 illustrates an example simplified procedure 500 for operating afuel dispensing apparatus, particularly from the perspective of the fueldispensing apparatus, in accordance with one or more embodiments of fueldispensing process 444.

Procedure 500 begins at step 505 and continues to step 510 where thefuel dispensing apparatus (i.e., one or more modules of fuel dispenser215) receives telematics data (e.g., vehicle id, etc.) regarding atleast one vehicle. Such telematics data can be derived from a vehicledevice (e.g., OBD, etc.), a customer device 210 (e.g., a mobile phone,etc.), and the like. Once received, the fuel dispenser initiates, atstep 515, a fueling session associated with the vehicle identificationdata. At step 520, the fuel dispenser determines a location of thevehicle based on at least one of the telematics data and a location ofthe mobile device associated with the vehicle (e.g., GPS data, NFC data,Bluetooth® data, etc.).

While the vehicle remains in a predetermined proximity of the fueldispenser, the fuel dispenser, at step 525, permits fuel to dispense.Once fueling is finished, the fuel dispenser registers completion (e.g.,by a distance of the vehicle to the dispenser exceeding thepredetermined proximity, holstering the fuel nozzle, etc.) and at step530, the fuel dispenser terminates the fueling session. Additionally,fuel dispenser prevents fuel from dispensing, at step 535, when thefueling session is terminated.

In certain embodiments, the fuel dispenser also determines, as shown instep 540, an account associated with vehicle identification data. Theaccount can have an account balance and/or can operate on credit-basedpayments. With an account balance, the fuel dispenser, at step 545,determines a total value of fuel dispensed for the fueling session and,at step 550, deducts the total value of fuel dispensed for the fuelingsession from the account balance. Additionally, the fuel dispensernotifies (step 555) the owner of the account associated with the vehicleidentification data that the total value of fuel dispensed was deductedfrom the account balance. The owner can be notified in either theaccount balance situation or the credit-based payment situationelectronically (e.g., email, text message, etc. - step 560), in monthlyor otherwise periodic statements (electronic or hard-copy - step 565),and the like. Also, the owner can be notified of account balances whenpredetermined thresholds are exceeded and/or if the vehicle of beingrefueled by someone having a different mobile device than that of theowner. Procedure 500 subsequently ends at step 570, but may continue tostep 510 where, as discussed above, the fuel dispenser receivestelematics data.

FIG. 6 illustrates another example simplified procedure 600 foroperating the fuel dispensing apparatus, particularly from theperspective the fuel dispensing apparatus, in accordance with one ormore embodiments of fuel dispensing process 444.

Procedure 600 begins at step 605 and continues to step 610 where thefuel dispenser receives telematics data regarding a vehicle. Asdiscussed above, telematics data can include vehicle diagnosticinformation such as engine timing, car tire pressure, car systemsnotifications, alerts, alarms, and may also include itinerary dataregarding upcoming trips. With respect to the telematics data, it may begenerated by the vehicle (OBD) and/or the customer device (e.g., mobilephone, etc.). For example, the itinerary data may be generated from thecustomer mobile device, which links can pull data from a customer'scalendar module/application.

Next, at step 615, the fuel dispenser determines an optimal fuel typesuch as an octane grade for the vehicle and based on the telematicsdata. For example, the engine timing may require certain fuel grades toprevent knocking. Additionally, for an upcoming trip (itinerary data),the fuel dispenser can determine a distance of the trip and evendetermine an altitude-specific fuel grade based on the location(s) ofthe trip.

Additionally, the fuel dispenser determines one or more recommended fueladditives (step 620) for the vehicle based on the vehicle diagnosticsdata and display such additives (step 635). Certain locals may havevarying nomenclature or lexicon for fuel types (e.g., “super”; “super+”,“regular”, and the like). Accordingly, the fuel dispenser, at step 625,determines fuel dispenser lexicon corresponding to the optimal octanegrade at the fuel dispenser, and at step 630, the fuel dispenserprovides the optimal fuel type for the vehicle to cause display of theoptimal fuel type. For example, the fuel dispenser may communicate theappropriate optimal fuel type to a customer device, display the optimalfuel type on a vehicle display, display the optimal fuel type on adisplay of the fuel dispenser, etc. The fuel dispenser operating inaccordance to procedure 600 also prevents (step 640) fuel of adifferent/non-optimal fuel type from dispensing. Procedure 600subsequently ends at step 645, but may begin again at step 610 where, asdiscussed above, the fuel dispenser receives telematics data regarding avehicle.

It should be noted that certain steps within procedures 500-600 may beoptional and that the steps shown in FIGS. 5-6 are merely examples forillustration -- certain other steps may be included or excluded asdesired. Further, while a particular order of the steps is shown, thisordering is merely illustrative, and any suitable arrangement of thesteps may be utilized without departing from the scope of theembodiments herein. Moreover, while procedures 500-600 are describedseparately, certain steps from each procedure may be incorporated intoeach other procedure, and the procedures are not meant to be mutuallyexclusive.

The techniques described herein, therefore, provide for improved smartfuel dispensing techniques. In particular, the techniques hereinsignificantly improve the customer experience and prevent damage tovehicles (e.g., from filling a vehicle with improper fuel grades).Moreover, using the telematics data from a customer's vehicle, variousrecommendations or enhancements can be provided to the customer, asdiscussed above.

While there have been shown and described illustrative embodiments forfuel dispensing, it is to be understood that various other adaptationsand modifications may be made within the spirit and scope of theembodiments herein. For example, the embodiments have been shown anddescribed herein with relation to a physical fuel dispenser. However,the embodiments in their broader sense are not as limited, and may, infact, be used with various distributed processing systems separate andapart from the fuel dispenser.

The foregoing description has been directed to specific embodiments. Itwill be apparent, however, that other variations and modifications maybe made to the described embodiments, with the attainment of some or allof their advantages. For instance, it is expressly contemplated that thecomponents and/or elements described herein can be implemented assoftware being stored on a tangible (non-transitory) computer-readablemedium (e.g., disks/CDs/RAM/EEPROM/etc.) having program instructionsexecuting on a computer, hardware, firmware, or a combination thereof.Accordingly this description is to be taken only by way of example andnot to otherwise limit the scope of the embodiments herein. Therefore,it is the object of the appended claims to cover all such variations andmodifications as come within the true spirit and scope of theembodiments herein.

What is claimed is:
 1. An apparatus comprising: one or more networkinterfaces adapted to communicate in a communication network; a memoryconfigured to store one or more processes; a processor adapted toexecute the one or more processes, the processor when executing the oneor more processes, is operable to: receive telematics data regarding atleast one vehicle from at least one of a vehicle device and a mobiledevice associated with the vehicle wherein the telematics data includesvehicle identification data; determine a location of the vehicle basedon at least one of the telematics data and a location of the mobiledevice associated with the vehicle; determine that the location of thevehicle is within a predetermined proximity of a fuel dispenser;determine a fuel type based on the vehicle identification data;determine scope of fueling permission associated with the vehicleidentification data; and initiate, by the fuel dispenser, a fuelingsession contingent upon the determined scope of fueling permission, thelocation of the vehicle, and the fuel type, wherein the fueling sessionis permitted to proceed while the location is within a predeterminedproximity of the fuel dispenser, and wherein the fueling session isterminated when the location of the vehicle exceeds the predeterminedproximity between the vehicle and the fuel dispenser.
 2. The apparatusrecited in claim 1, wherein the processor when executing the one or moreprocesses, is further operable to: terminate the fueling session furtherbased on the fuel dispenser registering a holstered dispenser; andprevent fuel from dispensing from the fuel dispenser when the fuelingsession is terminated.
 3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein theprocessor is further operable to determine the location of the vehiclebased on a beacon signal transmitted between the vehicle and the fueldispenser.
 4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the processor is furtheroperable to: determine an account associated with vehicle identificationdata, the account having an account balance; determine a total value offuel dispensed for the fueling session; deduct the total value of fueldispensed for the fueling session from the account balance; and notifyan owner of the account associated with the vehicle identification datathe total value of fuel dispensed was deducted from the account balance.5. The apparatus as recited in claim 1, wherein the processor whenexecuting the one or more processes, is operable to provide the fueltype for the vehicle causing display of the fuel type on at last one ofthe mobile device, a fuel dispenser display, and a vehicle display. 6.The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the processor is further operable toprevent fuel of a different fuel type from dispensing from the fueldispenser.
 7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the processor is furtheroperable to cause display of one or more recommended fuel additives onat least one of the mobile device, a fuel dispenser display, and avehicle display.
 8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the processor isfurther operable to determine an octane grade for the fuel type.
 9. Theapparatus of claim 1, wherein the telematics data includes itinerarydata regarding at least one upcoming trip and wherein the processor isfurther operable to determine at least one of a distance for theupcoming trip and one or more associated altitudes for the upcoming tripsuch that the processor is operable to determine the fuel type.
 10. Amethod, comprising: receiving telematics data regarding at least onevehicle from at least one of a vehicle device and a mobile deviceassociated with the vehicle wherein the telematics data includes vehicleidentification data; determining a location of the vehicle based on atleast one of the telematics data and a location of the mobile deviceassociated with the vehicle; determining that the location of thevehicle is within a predetermined proximity of a fuel dispenser;determining a fuel type based on the vehicle identification data;determining scope of fueling permission associated with the vehicleidentification data; and initiating, by the fuel dispenser, a fuelingsession contingent upon the determined scope of fueling permission, thelocation of the vehicle, and the fuel type, wherein the fueling sessionis permitted to proceed while the location is within a predeterminedproximity of the fuel dispenser, and wherein the fueling session isterminated when the location of the vehicle exceeds the predeterminedproximity between the vehicle and the fuel dispenser.
 11. The method ofclaim 10, further comprising: terminating the fueling session furtherbased on the fuel dispenser registering a holstered dispenser; andpreventing fuel from dispensing from the fuel dispenser when the fuelingsession is terminated.
 12. The method of claim 10, further comprising:determining an account associated with vehicle identification data, theaccount having an account balance; determining a total value of fueldispensed for the fueling session; deducting the total value of fueldispensed for the fueling session from the account balance; andnotifying an owner of the account associated with the vehicleidentification data the total value of fuel dispensed was deducted fromthe account balance.
 13. A system comprising: means for receivingtelematics data regarding at least one vehicle from at least one of avehicle device and a mobile device associated with the vehicle whereinthe telematics data includes vehicle identification data; means fordetermining a location of the vehicle based on at least one of thetelematics data and a location of the mobile device associated with thevehicle; means for determining that the location of the vehicle iswithin a predetermined proximity of a fuel dispenser; means fordetermining a fuel type based on the vehicle identification data; meansfor determining scope of fueling permission associated with the vehicleidentification data; and means for initiating a fueling sessioncontingent upon the determined scope of fueling permission, the locationof the vehicle, and the fuel type, wherein the fueling session ispermitted to proceed while the location is within a predeterminedproximity of the fuel dispenser, and wherein the fueling session isterminated when the location of the vehicle exceeds the predeterminedproximity between the vehicle and the fuel dispenser.
 14. The system ofclaim 13, further comprising: means for terminating the fueling sessionfurther based on the fuel dispenser registering a holstered dispenser;and means for preventing fuel from dispensing from the fuel dispenserwhen the fueling session is terminated.
 15. The system of claim 13,further comprising: means for determining an account associated withvehicle identification data, the account having an account balance;means for determining a total value of fuel dispensed for the fuelingsession; means for deducting the total value of fuel dispensed for thefueling session from the account balance; and means for notifying anowner of the account associated with the vehicle identification data thetotal value of fuel dispensed was deducted from the account balance.